The mental aspect by Silvia Pel

We serve a wonderful God! What a care He shows to His creatures! He is our Maker, our Creator, Redeemer… We are His handywork. He knows all the processes of our body. He has councels for our whole being, all the dimentions of our life.

God is the creator of the mind, soul and body. He knows us and has given us councels for a balanced development of the wonderful machinery He has entrusted to us. Of Christ, as our supreme example, it is recorded:

”And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” (Lk 2:52)

This short verse, describing the youth of our Saviour, tells of the 4 aspects of the human life that is unseparately bound together and needs a balanced development:

-Mental
-Physical
-Spiritual
-Social

This first study will concentrate on the mental aspect, even though these four elements are closely bound together.

In the very last book of the Bible we find a description of those who will be victorious at last:

”And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.” Rev. 22: 4

The forehead. This is a very important organ of the body. In today’s medical terms we could call it the frontal lobe.

In order for us to get the full understanding of the mental aspect of our being, that we find in the inspired Word, it would be helpful to take a look at the function of the frontal lobe:

Scientific studies shows that the frontal lobe is the seat of:

-Spirituality
-Morality
-The will

This is where God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit. Have you ever experienced to have bad conciense after transgressing Gods law? Good – that shows that you don’t have a heart like flint – a frontal lobe that is worn away by repeatedly rejecting the merciful voice of God.

From the Creators side the frontal lobe is made the King of the brain. We have many different centers – centers for the taste, for smelling, hearing, tasting, feeling… But all these are subject to the King – the frontal lobe.

The animal kingdom does not have such a developed frontal lobe, and consequently they cannot reason, use their will power and experience the same communication with the Holy Spirit as humans. A cat’s frontal lobe, for example, constitutes almost 10 times as little prosentage of its brain mass compared to a human being.

Man is created in the image of God (Gen. 2: 27). What a priveledge! We can reason, we can make intelligent decitions, we may use our will power to govern the machinery of the body, we may communicate with God and be lead by divine principles.

Before we go any further, I would like to share with you a true story that shook the world of medical science and shed much light on the function of the frontal lobe.

September 13, 1848: The well-respected, effective and conciensious 25 year old railroad construction foreman, Phineas P. Gage, heads off to his job. The team is working in a mountainous region, which makes the use of exposives needed. The routine is well established: Drilling a whole, filling it with exposives, covering it with sand, tamping with an iron bar – and then light off the explosion. This fatal day, someone had failed to fill in the sand in the whole, and the iron bar hit directly the explosives. Instead of breaking through the mountain, the iron bar was sent with enormous power straight towards Phineas. It went through his left cheak-bone, behind the left eye and straight through the brain. The force of the iron bar was so enormous that it landed several feets away after piercing through his head.  The amazing thing was that Phineas did not die. Actually he recovered quite soon – what his physical constitution was concerned. But drastic changes had taken place in his personality. Before the accident, Phineas was known to be an intelligent, responsible worker, a well-beloved father with high morals and a pious and reverent churchgoer. After the accident he seemed to be just as physically fit and mentally intelligent. His memory was still good, and he could walk, talk and work. But what about the moral side – the deeper values? After the accident he lost his love and interest in the family and soon after divorced. He became irresponsible and profane. No loger did he go to church. His spirituality and reverance was lost. Even social respects were gone. He lost his job, and ended up joining a travelling circus.

Other stories confirm the same truth: The importance of the Frontal Lobe – the organ through which the Holy Spirit speaks to us. The organ God has ordained to be the King – where we find the power of the will, where we make decisions, where morality and spirituality is situated.

Based on extensive research, the following effects are discovered as a result of a compromised frontal lobe:

-Impairment of moral principle
-Social impairment (loss of love for family etc.)
-Lack of foresight
-Incapable of abstract reasoning
-Cannot interpret proverbs
-Diminished ability for mathematical understanding
-Loss of empathy
-Lack of restraint (boasting, hostility, aggressiveness)
-Memory impairment (especially of recent events
-Distractability and restlessness
-Flight of ideas (fantasies, emotional instability)
-Apathy (lack of initiative)
-Indifference to one’s condition (happy-go-lucky)
-Hyperactivity
-Depression

As we are going to see later in the study, several factors play a role in either strengthening or weakening the frontal lobe. Sad to say many of the symptomes we have just looked at are greatly predominating in our world today. Despite of all the entertainment of our modern society that is introduced to make us happy, we have never before witnessed such an increase in depression and suicide. Teachers are complaining about lack of consentration among the pupils. The diagnosis Attention Disorder Hyperactivity Disorder is given to still more young people, or even the opposite, ADD – as the students lack push and initiative, are apathic, seems to lack a goal in life and are indifferent to their condition. The moral and spiritual values disappeares more and more – continually new borders are broken. Criminality – even at a low age – rises drasticly. Irritability, lack of restraint and loss of empathy are prevailing. This end-time condition of society is all prophecied in the Bible:

”And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” (Mt. 24: 12)

”This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covertous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of good; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” (2. Tim. 3: 1-5)

As Gods people, preparing for translation, we should have great interest in preserving the wonderful faculties God has granted us – the King of the brain: The frontal lobe. The name of God the Father – His character – is to be written there.

The following factors impaire frontal lobe functioning according to medical research:

Category 1:
-Illicit drugs
-Certain prescription drugs
-Other legal social drugs, like alcohol, caffeine, nicotine…

Tests with users of Marijuana: Defects in attention, memory and learning. A pregnant marijuana user gives her child a lifelong legacy of brain impairment.

Tests with users of Alcohol: MRI (scanning of the actual structure of the brain) reveals a striking amount of loss of frontal lobe gray matter. PET (scanning that looks at the brain function) shows a lower glucose metabolism, which indicates loss in frontal lobe activity. Even in small amounts the effect is proven.

Tests with users of Cofee: Cofee works on the nervous system: Caffeeine increases the level of the neurotransmitter Acetylcholine (the gas), while it tones down Adenosine (the break). This causes a quite dangerous imbalance. Cofee also increases Dopamine, which is extremly worrysome, since many psychiatric diseases appeares to be due in part to excess amounts of Dopamine. A Scandinavian study showed increased cases of depression, difficulties coping with problems and Insomina among heavy coffee-drinkers.

Tests with users of Nicotine: Nicotine is a stimulant with similar effects to caffeeine. It affects quality of sleep, performance and stress control. Compared to non-smokers, smokers face a double risk of dementia (permanent, significant loss of intelligence) from Alzheimer’s and other causes. A smoking, pregnant mother can also affect her child’s learning abilities for a lifetime.

-Large amounts of sugar
Sugar has been in the headlines of newspapers for its manifold injurious effects on health. Especially among children under education, a great sugar consuption has proved to cause consentration and learning difficulties, and even triggered ADHL. After it was discovered that the brain largly uses carbohydrates to perform it’s tasks, sugary food was referred to as ”brain-food”. But the case is actually the opposite. The reason is because sugar causes very unstable bloodsugar-levels. The blood-sugar rises quickly, but falls rapidly again below normal. It would be far better to eat food rich in complex carbohydrates – food sources that also are rich in fiber, like potatoes, rice, whole grain bread, cereals… This keeps a steady and adequate glucose level, and gives much better performance. One study was made among 46 five-year old boys. Those who got refined sugar food had much worse results on their tests. Actually it was esteemed that it equaled a whole grade lower. The difference could not be explained by IQ or the parent’s social or educational status.

-Large consuption of meat, cheese etc.
Certain dietary substances can have a detrimental effect upon the frontal lobe, this includes the chemical Thyramine, Tryptamine and Arachidonic Acid.
Thyramin is found in rich food like cheese.  It has an effect on the nervous system and stimulates stress. It’s linked with poorer school-perforance and mental confusion and has a detrimental influence upon the frontal lobe.
Tryptamine is found in cheese, fish and sausages, and in early spoilage of poultry products, which may take place unnoticed even in the refrigiator. Tryptamine is known for its mind-altering effects. It has been associated with night-mares and is even classed with drugs like LSD for its hallucinogenic effects. It may have an influence in hyperactivity among children.
Arachidonic Acid is found almost exclusivly in animal products. It decreases the frontal lobe’s ability to function efficiently.
Russian scientists have found that a single meal of meat can increase a particular stress-hormone called 17-hydroxycorticosteroid. These stress-provoking molecules are able to stimulate the lower parts of the brain, such as the pituitary gland where many hormones are produced. Here we find our more animalistic and less rational faculties.

Category 2:
-TV
In studies Television has proved to work as a hypnotist. When you measure the brain waves with EEG during a hypnotic state, you will notice that the hypnotized person looses beta waves from the brain. In a hypnotic state the alpha brain pattern is operative. Beta-wave activity indicates sound thinking that involves dynamic frontal lobe activity. Alpha-wave activity indicates that you do not filter the incoming information through your frontal lobe – you do not critically analyze it. A research lead by Dr. Thomas Mulholland looked at children’s EEGs as they watched their favorite television programs. The researches reasoned that the children would not fall into an alpha-pattern, since the program interested them, but reality showed that just after 2-3 minutes their minds went into alpha-waves. TV depresses the activity in the frontal lobe, which is the seat of spirituality, morality, and the will.

-Certain music
The up-beat (emphasis on the 2nd and 4th beat of a 4/4 rhytm) has proved to lower resistance against temptation. An experiment was performed in a shopping-center. When they played march-music (a natural body rhythm with emphsis on the 1st and 3rd beat of a 4/4 measure) people would just buy what they came for and walk away. The sale was low. When they switched to the up-beat-music the sale increased drasticly, and people seemed to take their time and buy much more than they had planned for. Like we discussed with certain types of food and their influence on the frontal lobe, the up-beat-music speaks to the lower parts of the brain and increases certain hormones, like the sex-hormone. A coup takes place in the brain – the subjects takes the place of the king. Music influences the brain, either for good or bad. Music therapists tell us that certain types of music – such as rock with its syncopated rhythm – bypasses the frontal lobe and thus escapes our ability to reason and make judgement about it. It may produce a hypnotic effect. A test done with mice listening to different kinds of music while passing through a maze, showed that rock/syncopated/disharmonic music sloved down the intelligence. This disharmonic rock-like music causees damage to the temporal lobes, and atrophy to the frontal lobe, which may affect moral worth, learning, and reasoning power. Classical music may have the opposite effect.

Category 3:
-Hypertension / High blood pressure
Results from MRI measurements of brain size showed significantly more brain atrophy in hypertensive subjects compared to those with normal blood pressure. No wonder, when we have looked at the other elements: High blood-pressure is often caused by a high intake of meat / fat / salt, much stress and little exercise.

We could sum the list up in one word: Intemperance. The true meaning of the word temperance is: ”Use moderately of that which is good, not at all that which is harmful.”

Let us protect our mental faculties from any damage, that we may be alert and sensitive to God’s guiding voice, have clear perceptions and sharp judgement!

The following factors strenghtens frontal lobe function:

• A nutritious, vegetarian diet (Gen. 1:29)

• Exercise, oxygen, good blood-flow to the brain

• Adequate sunshine

• Intellectual challenges – reading, studying etc. The Bible and spiritual reflections in a special way elevates and developes the mind (Prov. 9:10).

• Control what you see and hear (Phil. 4:8)

“Ye are the children of light… they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober… And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God you whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” 1. Thess. 5:5,7,8,23,24

This article is also available in word-format (plain text for print).

Norsk :: English :: Deutsch :: Svenska :: Dansk